Category: Features and Editorials

A Détacher – Fashioning The Personal

Mona Kowalska is not one of those fashion designers who sit in studios drawing pretty things to be sent out to distant places to be born. Not only does she make all of her patterns, but her small and efficient team of three takes care of all other aspects of the brand, including sales and press. Her atelier is located behind the Nolita store’s glitter-clad back wall, so that she may personally greet any customer who walks through the door. One even has to ring a bell to enter, a sign that one is not simply entering a store but rather a special place. Kowalska’s space, however, is unlike any other in that it is first and foremost personal. A common scene to be found in the store consists of a joyful customer walking in to pick up a custom-wrapped garment and a hug from the designer before strutting back out into the streets of Manhattan.

story written by Chloe Bensahel
photography by Ned and Aya Rosen
styling by Michael Tucker
hair by Agata
makeup by Sokphalla
model is Melinda from One Model Management

Mona Kowalska is not one of those fashion designers who sit in studios drawing pretty things to be sent out to distant places to be born. Not only does she make all of her patterns, but her small and efficient team of three takes care of all other aspects of the brand, including sales and press. Her atelier is located behind the Nolita store’s glitter-clad back wall, so that she may personally greet any customer who walks through the door. One even has to ring a bell to enter, a sign that one is not simply entering a store but rather a special place. Kowalska’s space, however, is unlike any other in that it is first and foremost personal. A common scene to be found in the store consists of a joyful customer walking in to pick up a custom-wrapped garment and a hug from the designer before strutting back out into the streets of Manhattan.

Continue reading “A Détacher – Fashioning The Personal”

Preview Textile Group – The Silk Dragon Is Friendly

Douglas Greenwald’s grandfather got into silk screening down on Spring Street decades ago. Today, a third generation garment businessman, Doug manages Preview Textile Group, a massive silk and print wholesale operation headquartered upstairs from Mood Fabrics on the eleventh floor at 225 West 37th Street in Manhattan.

story by Charles Beckwith
photography by Aeric Meredith-Goujon

Douglas Greenwald’s grandfather got into silk screening down on Spring Street decades ago. Today, a third generation garment businessman, Doug manages Preview Textile Group, a massive silk and print wholesale operation headquartered upstairs from Mood Fabrics on the eleventh floor at 225 West 37th Street in Manhattan. Continue reading “Preview Textile Group – The Silk Dragon Is Friendly”

Mood Fabrics – Inside The Textile Superstore

Possibly the biggest fabric collection in the world is housed by Mood Fabrics, a textile superstore entered from the third floor at 225 West 37th Street in Manhattan. For designers coming to New York City from out of town, this is one stop not to miss. Forget Fifth Avenue, there is nothing like this in Milan, Paris, or anywhere else. Continuing modaCYCLE’s designer resources series, we recently sat down with manager Eric Sauma to talk about this wonder of the fashion world.

story by Charles Beckwith
photography by Aeric Meredith-Goujon

Possibly the biggest fabric collection in the world is housed by Mood Fabrics, a textile superstore entered from the third floor at 225 West 37th Street in Manhattan. For designers coming to New York City from out of town, this is one stop not to miss. Forget Fifth Avenue, there is nothing like this in Milan, Paris, or anywhere else. Continuing modaCYCLE’s designer resources series, we recently sat down with manager Eric Sauma to talk about this wonder of the fashion world. Continue reading “Mood Fabrics – Inside The Textile Superstore”

The Fair Sex Is Your Department

She looked back at us from the door, and I had a last impression of that beautiful haunted face, the startled eyes, and the drawn mouth. Then she was gone. “Now, Watson, the fair sex is your department,” said Holmes, with a smile, when the dwindling frou-frou of skirts had ended in the slam of the front door. “What was the fair lady’s game? What did she really want?”

photography by Charles Beckwith
hair and makeup by Amy Gifford
models Stefania and Ashley from Sharlet Grier
model Chandler from Emmanuel NY

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She looked back at us from the door, and I had a last impression of that beautiful haunted face, the startled eyes, and the drawn mouth. Then she was gone.

“Now, Watson, the fair sex is your department,” said Holmes, with a smile, when the dwindling frou-frou of skirts had ended in the slam of the front door. “What was the fair lady’s game? What did she really want?”

from “The Second Stain” in The Return of Sherlock Holmes (1905)

This editorial features garments from Holy Tee, Oak, and Won Hundred, represented by Archetype Showroom. Click the images for specific credits.

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Everyday Glamour

This photo editorial from Ned and Aya Rosen features looks from several of Melt Management’s many international client labels, including Maurie & Eve, Lisa Maree, Alexia Ulibarri, Alejandra Quesada, and Sunny Girl.

photography by Ned and Aya Rosen
hair and makeup by Robin Watson-Hamilton
model is Sian from Muse

This photo editorial from Ned and Aya Rosen features looks from several of Melt Management’s many international client labels, including Maurie & Eve, Lisa Maree, Alexia Ulibarri, Alejandra Quesada, and Sunny Girl.

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Megan Maguire Steele – A Fashion Publicist In Perspective

Backstage at a major fashion show is at once a thrilling and daunting place to be. There’s so much riding on each season that the simple pressure of the room is intense, and the energy leaves the senses heightened and often the nerves on edge. It is, in short, no place for amateurs. It is a place for the serious and skilled to excel, and it’s easy to spot them if you’re back there often enough. Megan Maguire Steele, owner of her self-named PR firm, Maguire Steele, is both serious and skilled, and has done a great deal of excelling lately.

story written by Seth Friedermann
office and showroom photos by Aeric Meredith-Goujon
runway show photos by Adrianna Favero

Backstage at a major fashion show is at once a thrilling and daunting place to be. There’s so much riding on each season that the simple pressure of the room is intense, and the energy leaves the senses heightened and often the nerves on edge. It is, in short, no place for amateurs. It is a place for the serious and skilled to excel, and it’s easy to spot them if you’re back there often enough. Megan Maguire Steele, owner of her self-named PR firm, Maguire Steele, is both serious and skilled, and has done a great deal of excelling lately.
Continue reading “Megan Maguire Steele – A Fashion Publicist In Perspective”

United Nude – Collaboration and Emotions In Footwear With Rem. D. Koolhaas

Putting on a United Nude shoe is an experience.You are immediately aware that you are not just wearing a shoe, but rather a sculpture. It should then come as no surprise that its creator, Rem D. Koolhaas, defines his brand as a “lifestyle brand.” After all, a shoe changed his life; why can’t it change yours?

story written by Chloe Bensahel
photography by Adrianna Favero
fashion styling by Seth Friedermann
hair and makeup by Claire Marshall
model is Karolina Nevia from Fusion (NY)

The photos with this article feature
shoes by United Nude and the
garments of Timothy George.

Putting on a United Nude shoe is an experience. You are immediately aware that you are not just wearing a shoe, but rather a sculpture. It should then come as no surprise that its creator, Rem D. Koolhaas, defines his brand as a “lifestyle brand.” After all, a shoe changed his life; why can’t it change yours? Continue reading “United Nude – Collaboration and Emotions In Footwear With Rem. D. Koolhaas”

TACTILE – A Fashion Film

This is a fashion film about the tactile experience of clothing, featuring garments and accessories by Laruicci, Odilon by Stacey Clark, Sretsis, L’Autre Chose, Mandy Coon, Blank Silk, Dominic Loius, Circa Sixty Three, Plutocracy, Suzanna Dai, Irina Marinescu, and Rynshu.

directed and edited by Charles Beckwith
fashion styling by Ashley Roberts
hair and makeup by Alana Guy
music by Jacob Miller
models are Melody from Ford, Vera from RED, and Jillian and Catherine from Fenton Moon

This is a fashion film about the tactile experience of clothing, featuring garments and accessories by Laruicci, Odilon by Stacey Clark, Sretsis, L’Autre Chose, Mandy Coon, Blank Silk, Dominic Loius, Circa Sixty Three, Plutocracy, Suzanna Dai, Irina Marinescu, and Rynshu.

Gary Graham – Finding Beauty In The Dark

The Gary Graham spring 2012 collection is a fairy tale of a young woman, as told by Mr. Graham, “she lives in an interior space, literally and figuratively, and she steps outside. It’s a story with a happy ending.” His design aesthetic is fueled by his “interest in where the garment has been moving through history and time.” A bleached floral print was inspired by a dress from a friend’s grandmother. The herringbone suiting group was grown from a found swatch of fabric. Wallpaper that has survived flood waters is the genesis of a print that spotlights the beauty of graduated color shifts.

story written by Sia-Alika Battle
photography by Aeric Meredith-Goujon
styling by Zimir Hernandez
makeup by Samantha Lennon
hair by Sonia Castleberry
model is Aleksandra from Fenton Moon

all shoes provided by l’Autre Chose

The Gary Graham spring 2012 collection is a fairy tale of a young woman, as told by Mr. Graham, “she lives in an interior space, literally and figuratively, and she steps outside. It’s a story with a happy ending.” His design aesthetic is fueled by his “interest in where the garment has been moving through history and time.” A bleached floral print was inspired by a dress from a friend’s grandmother. The herringbone suiting group was grown from a found swatch of fabric. Wallpaper that has survived flood waters is the genesis of a print that spotlights the beauty of graduated color shifts. Continue reading “Gary Graham – Finding Beauty In The Dark”

Morgan Carper – Finding Herself In Translations

A flash of insight, an inspiration, a map, a plane ticket for two, and a whole lot of frequent flier miles. This jet-setting describes a big part of Morgan Carper’s artistic process. Whether it’s to the desert Southwest of the U.S or the hills of Laos, other cultures and their artisanal means and traditions are a big part of her seasonal collections. However all is not first as it might appear. While many designers begin by being entranced by ethnic fabrics and the ancient technologies that create them, for Mrs. Carper its about finding the answer to the desire that’s already stirring within her.

story written by Seth Friedermann
photography by Ned & Aya Rosen
makeup by Isabel Ruiz
styling by Michael Tucker
model is Paris from Muse Model Management
all garments by Morgan Carper

A flash of insight, an inspiration, a map, a plane ticket for two, and a whole lot of frequent flier miles. This jet-setting describes a big part of Morgan Carper’s artistic process. Whether it’s to the desert Southwest of the U.S or the hills of Laos, other cultures and their artisanal means and traditions are a big part of her seasonal collections. However all is not first as it might appear. While many designers begin by being entranced by ethnic fabrics and the ancient technologies that create them, for Mrs. Carper its about finding the answer to the desire that’s already stirring within her. Continue reading “Morgan Carper – Finding Herself In Translations”